Posted by Tal on September 28, 1999 at 12:57:25:
In Reply to: for tal posted by johnmerrick on September 28, 1999 at 11:27:34:
: you make some good points. i think people in developed nations are less happy in many, many ways...materialism does not lead to happiness. however, i live in the united states, and i realize that fact (that materialism doesn't lead to happiness), so i am happier than the average person who is striving after money. however, if i was born into starvation, i wouldn't be able to CHOOSE to not starve. i can CHOOSE to not be materialistic and thus be happy here, so....your reasoning is mostly false. the world is not symmetrical by any means. it IS unjust, it IS imbalanced, and you are just as blind as pseudoname and deecee if you think it's not.
This strikes me as more of the same "I'm right and everyone else is blind/superficial/wrong" Four nonsense. Our philosophy is usually the result of psychological factors, and not vice versa (though unquestionable there is feedback involved here too). To say the world is unjust and imbalanced is usually a good indicator you feel it's abused you personally. I don't know what you as a person are like beyond your posts; but for the record, in 14 years of living in Kenya, I recall very few occasions on which a native said to me "the world sucks" or anything of the like. If anything, they are far *more* accepting of the idiosyncracies than you seem to be. I am not suggesting the world is a perfect round pie and everyone gets an equal slice. What I am saying is that generally the people who get the big slices don't appreciate it, and the people who get the small slices don't realise there are bigger ones to be had. Is there injustice? Sure. I'd rather be born into a happy home than an abusive family. But to say, if I can paraphrase you, that the world is evil because of that is ridiculous. The world is what it is; and most people accept it as such, and make their choices within those confines. If you, as a person, who, as you state, lives in the developed world and is above materialism (something which is not, imho, inherently bad), are saddled with such a negative worldview, you have my sympathy. But frankly, I know of more people in the western world who share your worldview than in the developing world, so personally I question the validity of it.